My brother and I have both upgraded old
Macintosh computers with Macquaria,
a fishtank/screensaver program that fills the screen with colorful
living icons in an underwater theme. My Mac SE runs Fish&Chips
v. 3.0 Here are the plans
if you want to build your own.

This is my chinchilla, Peppercorn
[FN1] The chinchilla is a South American mammal
with very soft fur. I tell the uninitiated that he
looks like a cross between a squirrel and a rabbit. Chinchilla
owners seem to be a very high tech bunch, so Peppercorn has many
on-line friends.

I had a beehive in my backyard
for about ten years, and sold honey with this label: I took up beekeeping to explore the social life
and dance-language communication of these insects. Fifty to
100 pounds of honey a year wasn't bad either.
Unfortunately, I lost the hive to the combined onslaught of varroa
mite and a bear a few years ago.

FN1. The name Peppercorn seemed
appropriate for a small, somewhat round, light grey pet. It had
special significance to a law student who had just learned about "peppercorn
consideration" in contracts class. For peppercorn consideration
(a raisin), the chinchilla will be your lifelong friend.